Swallowing the Stars: The cheat system only comes when I'm almost a god?

The news of Lava Venerable's breakthrough not only spread throughout the human elite but also quickly reached within the Hong Alliance.

Among them was Herodo, the leader of the Golden Horned Clan and the Seven Star Overlord.

In the virtual universe, within the inner city of Hongmeng City, Hirodo's eyes gleamed as he reviewed the message.

"The Molten Crystal Ant Clan, the Lava Venerable? He received the complete inheritance of the Blazing Cloud God General..." he muttered to himself, quickly analyzing in his mind.

Herodo himself was a top cosmic overlord with formidable strength, but he unexpectedly perished when the original star was opened last time. Although he was later resurrected by the creator of the giant axe, he had exhausted the reserves of his race.

The Primordial Star had been open for a long time, and he was itching to go back in to seek opportunities and make up for his losses.

But he also had concerns:

Venturing out alone? No way, the danger level is too high!

Team up with a powerful human?

There is still a problem. If his teammates are just ordinary cosmic venerables, they will need his care and attention, which will affect the final results.

If he teams up with a cosmic overlord of the same level, who possesses numerous treasures and is daring and aggressive, he probably won't gain much advantage in the final distribution of spoils.

After all, he has more to worry about now. He doesn't dare to burn his divine power and risk his life until he has enough resources to pay for his next resurrection.

"This Lava Venerable... might be an excellent teammate!" Herodo's mind started working.

First, the two sides are evenly matched.

As a candidate for divine general, Lava already possesses the basic combat power of a cosmic overlord. When he burns his divine power at critical moments, the power he unleashes is absolutely not to be underestimated and is enough to deal with the dangers in most areas of the original star.

Secondly, both sides are in similar situations.

Both of them came from weak tribes and had limited resources, and they had a strong desire for the treasures of the primordial star.

Moreover, the Golden Horn Clan and the Molten Crystal Ant Clan are geographically far apart and have no direct conflict of interest. On the contrary, as they both belong to the Hong Alliance, they have a natural basis for cooperation.

Finally, as a newly crowned overlord, the Lava Venerable urgently needs practical experience to fully unleash his power. Accumulating treasures and making greater contributions to the Hong Alliance are also his current needs. I, with my rich experience, can provide him with guidance.

More importantly, the Lava Master, like himself, "cannot afford to die"!

The other party's race only has him as the sole cosmic venerable one. Once he falls, the race's status will plummet. Therefore, he will definitely be more cautious. This is similar to my own mindset, which will make us more understanding of each other when cooperating and avoid rash actions.

"Excellent! This is a golden opportunity!" Herodo suddenly stood up. "I doubt he will refuse me. I can obtain the resources I need and also build friendships with someone of equal strength. Such an invitation is rare."

……

Congratulations echoed throughout the empty space of the basin.

Although the assembled powerful figures each had their own feelings, they all understood that the Lava Venerable before them was someone they needed to look up to, and they all stepped forward to express their congratulations.

The Lava Master smiled and responded to everyone's congratulations, maintaining his humble demeanor.

Crimson Beacon King stood beside Lava Venerable. As an old friend and the guardian of this place, he was helping to receive the cosmic venerables who were arriving one after another through the teleportation channel.

These were mostly cosmic venerables who remained in their races during the initial opening of the primordial star. Their strength was relatively weak, so they were naturally exceptionally enthusiastic towards a candidate god general who had just broken through and already possessed the strength of a cosmic overlord.

"Lord Lava, congratulations! I am Lord Hurricane, and I have come to offer my congratulations!"

"Your breakthrough today is truly a blessing for our human race and the Hong Alliance. I am Venerable Lieguang..."

One by one, venerable figures appeared and bowed in greeting.

The Lava Venerable dared not be negligent and returned the greetings one by one.

This scene was even more shocking to the Kings who had not yet left. Many of them did not know what it meant to fully accept the inheritance of a God General, but seeing this scene, they realized that the other party was no ordinary Universe Venerable.

Just then, the Lava Venerable's voice quietly rang in Lin Yuan's ear: "Chaos King, could you stay a moment? After this matter is settled, I have some things I would like to discuss with you privately."

Lin Yuan's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at Venerable Lava. He saw that the Venerable was talking to a Venerable who had come to offer his congratulations, with a smile on his face, seemingly not looking in his direction.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he guessed the reason. He then replied telepathically, "Since you have invited me, I will gladly comply."

About half an hour later, the Venerable Ones who came to offer their congratulations left one after another.

King Chifeng glanced at the powerful figures who remained in place and announced loudly, "Everyone, the matter of the inheritance of the Blazing Cloud Divine General has concluded. I have arranged for a spaceship to wait outside to take you back to your respective forces."

Upon hearing this, all the kings bowed and took their leave.

Most of them had mixed feelings, both shocked by witnessing the birth of a cosmic overlord and regretful that their own chance to inherit the throne was interrupted.

But since things had come to this, there was no point in saying more. They could only keep this wonderful experience deep in their hearts and turn it into motivation for their future cultivation.

After the cosmic venerables who had come to curry favor received satisfactory answers and dispersed, only the Lava Venerable, the Crimson Beacon King, and Lin Yuan, who stood to the side, remained in the basin.

King Chifeng glanced at the two of them and smiled, "Lava, you and Junior Brother Lin Yuan must still have something to say, so I won't disturb you any longer."

"Once you've finished dealing with things here, remember to come find me at Crimson Beacon Palace, and we'll have a good drink together."

The friendship between these two old comrades-in-arms will not change because of the difference in their cultivation levels. Moreover, the human race is much richer than other races, and with the blessing of a wealth of treasures, the Crimson Beacon King's combat power is comparable to that of a low-level Universe Venerable.

The Venerable Yan Yue has only cultivated for a total of more than 20 million years, so even though she has long become an invincible powerhouse at the King level, her own assets are still not as good as those of other powerhouses of the same level. If her teacher does not bestow any treasures upon her, she will truly have no powerful treasures to protect her.

However, the Crimson Beacon King was different. Although he had to call the other party "Uncle-Master," he had remained at this realm for over a billion years and had been guarding the Blazing Cloud Continent. The wealth he had accumulated was enough for him to exchange for a set of ordinary treasures.

"Definitely!" Venerable Lava solemnly agreed.

King Chifeng nodded, and then disappeared from the spot in a flash.

At this moment, only two people remained in the vast basin.

The Lava Venerable turned to face Lin Yuan, and the hazy aura surrounding his body dissipated.

It revealed its true appearance—an ant-shaped body nearly five meters tall, with faint golden patterns flowing on its crimson carapace, and three pairs of transparent crystal wings trembling gently.

"Chaos King..." the Lava Venerable spoke, his voice even gentler than before, "Regarding this inheritance, there is something I need to tell you."

Lin Yuan said calmly, "Please speak, Venerable One."

The Lava Venerable gazed at Lin Yuan and slowly said, "In the last layer of the inheritance space, the guardian told me that you had reached the end before me, but chose to give up accepting the inheritance of the Blazing Cloud Secret Technique."

He paused, his tone tinged with emotion: "If you hadn't given up voluntarily, the land of inheritance would have collapsed prematurely. I would never have been able to reach the end, let alone obtain the complete inheritance and break through to the realm of the Universe Venerable."

"You flatter me, Venerable One." Lin Yuan smiled slightly. "Giving up the inheritance was a decision I made for my own path, and you don't need to take it to heart."

"No."

The Lava Venerable shook his head, his expression serious: "Perhaps for you, this is just a choice on the path of cultivation. But for me and my race, this is an opportunity to change our destiny."

He gazed at the distant crimson nebula, his voice deepening: "I was born into the Molten Crystal Ant Clan, a weak clan whose territory was less than a star sector. Before my birth, the strongest member of the clan was only at the peak of the Marquis level."

I cultivated for three billion years before finally reaching the peak of the King level, an achievement never before seen in the history of our race.

To secure a spot in this divine general's inheritance, the Molten Crystal Ant Clan poured in most of their savings, and I owe Captain Chi Feng an immense favor.

The Lava Venerable withdrew his gaze and looked at Lin Yuan, "If this inheritance fails, my clan may never have a second chance. Therefore..."

He bowed slightly and said solemnly, "Although the Chaos King did not mean any harm, he truly helped me. I will remember this kindness in my heart."

Seeing this, Lin Yuan quickly stepped aside and said, "Everyone has their own opportunities on the path of cultivation. Your achievements today are all due to your own accumulation and luck, and have little to do with me."

The Lava Venerable straightened up, his eyes revealing admiration: "The Chaos King has a magnanimous heart, which is admirable."

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming more enthusiastic: "According to tradition, I will hold a celebration banquet six months from now to mark this breakthrough. I hope that the Chaos King can stay a little longer and attend the banquet together."

As he spoke, the Lava Venerable took out a crimson gold invitation.

The invitation was forged from a special metal, with patterns of flame and space engraved on its surface, and a burning Qilin mark in the center—the very symbol of the Blazing Cloud God General.

"This banquet will be held in the Crimson Flame Secret Realm, right here on the Blazing Cloud Continent." Venerable Lava handed out the invitation. "The banquet is mainly for human race members and cosmic venerables from the Hong Alliance. If the Chaos King would be so kind as to grace us with his presence, I would be extremely honored."

Lin Yuan accepted the invitation with both hands.

The invitation felt warm and smooth to the touch, and one could faintly sense the aura of laws contained within it.

He pondered for a moment, and then he understood.

While the Lava Master's gesture appeared to be an invitation to a celebratory banquet, it actually carried multiple deeper meanings:

Firstly, as the other party said, this was to thank me for making way. Although I had no such intention, the other party clearly took this cause and effect very seriously.

Secondly, as the Lava Venerable newly became a cosmic overlord, he urgently needed to build connections within the Hong Alliance.

As a disciple of Venerable Yan Yue and an invincible genius among the human race, I have unlimited potential and am an excellent person to befriend.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the fact that the Lava Venerable deliberately held the banquet here, rather than within his clan's territory, is itself a signal.

Lin Yuan sighed softly to himself.

He could imagine that after breaking through to become a cosmic overlord, the person's greatest desire should have been to return to their clan and celebrate with them, sharing this glory with them.

But the reality is that the Lava Venerable's divine general inheritance comes from the human race. Even the quota he obtained was bait thrown out by the human race to win over the many races of the Hong Alliance. Moreover, his future also depends on the Hong Alliance.

Therefore, even if he most wanted to celebrate with his people, he had to hold the celebration within human territory in order to solidify his relationship with the human race.

This is the difficulty faced by powerful individuals from weaker groups—even if they ascend to the position of cosmic overlord, they still have to carefully maintain a balance among various forces and dare not be negligent in the slightest.

"Your Excellency's hospitality is too kind to refuse." Lin Yuan put away the invitation.

"good!"

A hint of satisfaction flashed in the eyes of the Lava Venerable: "Chaos King, you may bring one or two friends with you. There is no need to be reserved at the banquet; just treat it as a gathering for fellow practitioners to exchange ideas."

Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right." The Lava Venerable suddenly remembered something and added, "I heard that the Chaos King and the Eclipse Venerable Lawrence are also close friends. If he is free at the time, we might as well invite him to come along as well."

Lin Yuan's heart stirred.

The fact that the Lava Master knew so much about his relationship with Lawrence shows that he had indeed put in a lot of effort.

He nodded and said, "I will tell Venerable Tian Shi, but he recently went to explore the Primordial Star, and I can't guarantee he will have time."

"It's alright," the Lava Venerable laughed. "Once you reach the level of an immortal god, you will have no worries about lifespan, and we will have the opportunity to meet again in the future."

After a brief conversation, the Lava Venerable informed Lin Yuan of the specific time and location of the banquet and agreed to maintain contact in the virtual universe.

Before parting, Venerable Lava suddenly said solemnly, "Chaos King, I know you have lofty ambitions and are unwilling to be bound by the inheritance of the God General, but you must know that there is always a chance of something going wrong."

His eyes shone with sincerity: "I will be heading to the Ancestral God Sect next. If your cultivation path is not smooth in the future and you are interested in seeking the inheritance of the Blazing Cloud God General again, I may be able to provide some information."

Lin Yuan felt a warmth in his heart and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Venerable Lava."

"No need to be so polite." Venerable Lava waved his hand. "It is fate that we share the same place of inheritance. If the Chaos King needs anything in the future, I will do my best to help."

These words were quite straightforward. Venerable Lava was clearly expressing his intention to make friends.

Lin Yuan solemnly returned the greeting: "I will remember Venerable Lava's kindness. If there is any need in the future, I will certainly not refuse, as long as it is within my ability."

The two looked at each other and smiled.